Quiana Lynell

Singer Quiana Lynell is a natural educator, and from the time the tape started rolling at Esplanade Studios, class was in session. Lesson one: Intro to Scat Singing.

Good scat is based on the art of improvising in counter-melody – taking an established melody and vocalising a different melodic line that reflects directly on the original.

Musically speaking, children are counter-melodies of their parents, especially in their early years. Lynell grew up in the West Texas city of Abilene, where she was raised in an austere, religious household. She learned her first musical lessons in church. “That is how I grew up,” Lynell said. “And my mom was like my first voice teacher. She’d be like, “Stop singing out of your nose!”

And yet, the melodies of childhood were too sparse for the young Lynell. She had more to say. As a soprano at Louisiana State University, her plan was to sing classical music professionally. But how often do people do exactly what they thought they’d be doing in college? Lynell built a repertoire in gospel, blues and r&b music in Baton Rouge, before realizing she had still more to say. New Orleans beckoned — and, with it, a yen for jazz. She’s been growing her jazz vocabulary — and chops — ever since.

Now, the world is beckoning. In 2017, Lynell won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, which is held each year at Rutgers University in Vaughan’s home state of New Jersey. Also, Lynell performed in Europe this summer and New York. She’s currently working on a new album with a slew of jazz masters, including trumpeter Terence Blanchard, David Torkanowsky on piano, Max Moran on bass and Herlin Riley on drums, among others.

To Lynell’s mind, this is the beginning of her destiny as an renowned jazz artist and bandleader. She’s growing — and so is her vocabulary. And, yes, she has a lot more to scat about that.

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Always a Student, Always a Teacher

To Quiana Lynell, the themes of music and education have always been inseparable. As a child, she used songs as tools to remember her lessons. On Music Inside Out, she recalled the importance of the School House Rock! series originated by the late Bob Dorough;

…Or this one, also from Schoolhouse Rock!, sung by Blossom Dearie

Eventually, Lynell became a music teacher. She says her work with an elementary school band near Baton Rouge allowed her the freedom to pursue singing professionally:

I’m teaching, because that was part of my transition of, “How do you become a musician that is able to tour?” So I’m like, “Okay, all these people I’m meeting, a lot of them teach and then they tour in the summer.” So I’m like, “Okay, let’s go teach.” I had my degree in Music. I started teaching elementary music and beginning band. All this is great for my stair-stepping into being a better musician, a jazz musician.

Now, she continues to shape young minds by training vocalists at Loyola University in New Orleans.

Quiana Lynell and Music Inside Out Producer Garrett Pittman, at Esplanade Studios, New Orleans

Music Inside Out is a weekly radio program that celebrates the music and musicians of Louisiana and explores both their influences and their impact around the world. Host Gwen Thompkins is an enthusiastic believer in great music and you hear that, week after week.

Tune in to Music Inside Out on WWNO 89.9 FM in New Orleans Thursdays at 7:00p and Saturdays at Noon. And you can listen to the shows right here, online, anytime.